Myth:
Prosody means I have to use upspeak and go crazy with inflecting really high and really low. OR Prosody means I have to bark everything I say. Fact: Upspeak, although it is easily recognizable as an element of prosody, is never required. The goal for developing prosody is to ensure that your intent is communicated effectively through the use of melody or volume inflection, and rhythm. What is upspeak? Upspeak occurs when each phrase ends with a pitch glide up, as though it were a question. Upspeak sometimes carries the stigma that it sounds as though the speaker is apologizing for everything they say, and is therefore insecure. Despite the negative stigma, upspeak is a quickly recognizable feminine inflection pattern, and could be used to your advantage. You have the flexibility and autonomy to choose how much or how little upspeak to use in your daily speech, and it could be a fun thing to play around with! What is meant by “barking?” Barking is a way to describe a percussive way of speaking that uses volume for emphasis instead of melodic changes. It carries some negative stigma but is recognizable as a masculine voice pattern. You have the choice to utilize this style of prosody as much or as little as you want in order to reach your voice goals. Useful info: Prosody refers the patterns of rhythm, intonation, and emphasis in speech. In feminine voices, emphasis is usually communicated through melodic inflection and elongation of syllables. In masculine voices, emphasis usually comes through changes in volume and shortened syllables or words. Feminine: I love this place! The flowers are blooming, the bees are buzzing, it’s fabulous! Masculine: Dude. This is awesome. Check out that huge bee. Granted, in this example there is more than just prosody in play; word choice is another gender marker in speech and communication. You can probably hear in your mind, however, that the words “love,” “blooming,” and “buzzing” are elongated and “it’s FABulous” rises in pitch significantly to add emphasis to the feminine example. In the masculine example, you might hear that “AWEsome” has a louder volume to add emphasis and there is silence between the sentences, which are also much shorter and more percussive. In the next section, there is no slow or fast track. If you’re at this point in your voice training, you know that tweaking these nuanced elements takes practice. Communicating intent with “Hi, how are you?”
Playing with rhythm Using the sample sentences below, choose a word to emphasize by either elongating the word or adding a pause after the word. Repeat the sample sentences again, this time adding emphasis with either pitch or volume. Which feels more natural? Which conveys your intent?
A note about stereotypes and binary: The intention of these exercises is never to guide you toward a gender stereotype. As with everything in your voice training, follow your instincts and do what feels natural and authentic. The examples are presented in a binary format so that you can make decisions about where you’d like your voice and speech patterns to fall along the broad spectrum of gender expression. Play around with different ways of using prosody to find what fits best for you! Tl;dr Feminine prosody includes changes in melody and elongation of syllables or words to add emphasis within a sentence. Masculine prosody has less melodic inflection and uses volume and percussive rhythm to add emphasis. “Hi, how are you?” can convey a wide range of emotions or intentions, depending on how it is affected by different types of prosody. One Weird Trick Speak the phrase “My mother made lemon muffins” in a monotone voice with no rhythmic change. Repeat the same phrase but add emphasis with changes in pitch, volume, and rhythm to each word in succession. How does this change the meaning of the sentence? Where else do you think you use this style of prosody in everyday speech? my mother made lemon muffins MY mother made lemon muffins my MOTHER made lemon muffins my mother MADE lemon muffins my mother made LEMON muffins my mother made lemon MUFFINS?
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AuthorHi! My name is Liz, and I'm a voice teacher and vocologist from Chicago. I have worked with many transgender and gender nonconforming clients, helping them develop speaking and singing voice patterns that align with their affirmed gender. I'm passionate about providing voice care for the t/gnc communities and in addition to seeing private clients, I love volunteering and doing outreach programs for LGBTQ medical and community centers and support groups. ArchivesCategories |